My First Tattoo Convention, Volunteering with NiP
I felt so much excitement, stepping into the large hall of Excel London.
From that first inviting buzz of a hundred tattoo machines working their magic, to the maze of stalls packed with beautiful, exciting and unique artwork, tatted guests in their thousands, and even dodgems, I knew that the Big London Tattoo Show 2024 was the best place I could be in London that weekend.
I may have been a couple hours late, (two branches of the Elizabeth line? What?), but once in the building and with my entrance wristband collected, I was well on my way to having my Big London Tattoo Show weekend of fun!
Meeting the Nipple Innovation Project Team
Most of all, I was excited to meet other volunteers of The Nipple Innovation Project.
If you didn’t already know, the Nipple Innovation Project (or NiP) is a charity which aims to empower and dignify breast cancer survivors with free, realistic nipple tattoos from tattoo professionals.
The 100% volunteer NiP team is a close-knit group, but with physical distance between us. Some, like myself, are London-based, while many are up in Yorkshire where the Nipple Innovation Project began.
This was a rare opportunity for us to all meet up in person.
From left to right: Laura, Spencer (me), Lucy, Georgia, Nadja, Charlotte. A special thanks to NiP sponsor WBJ Wholesale Body Jewellery for helping secure us a spot right opposite the main stage!
Turns out, the Nipple Innovation Project team are all just as cool offline as they are on Google Meets! Only with less buffering and freezing.
Lucy Thompson, the charity founder, Laura, Nadja, Georgia and Charlotte are some of the most.fun-loving, sunny, generous souls I have the pleasure of knowing. Completely my kind of people.
What North-South divide? We may not pronounce “cold water bath” the same when discussing our upcoming #dip4nip cold water October fundraiser, but we share a sense of humour as well as a shared sense of pride in being able to help the Nipple Innovation Project in our own small ways, using our different experiences and skills.
Spreading the NiP Love
From our prime location right opposite the main stage, we were able to talk to so many Big London Tattoo Show guests about the Nipple Innovation project, spread awareness, raise funds, sell merch and give away nipple stickers!
Visitors to our stall were surprised to learn that the photos of nipples we had proudly on display were not real, but examples of the ultra-realistic 3D areola tattoos made by our NiP registered artists.
My NiP tote bag received a lot of attention too, and though the diva in me wants to gatekeep, you can buy your own online here— all proceeds go back to the Nipple Innovation Project charity!
Feeling the Love From the Tattoo Industry
With the rest of the team holding the fort, myself and Laura had some time to grab a coffee, walk the aisles of Big London Tattoo Show, hand out flyers about our charity founder Lucy Thompson’s TedTalk, and meet with various tattoo artists to see if they might be interested in becoming one of NiP’s latest registered artists.
It was really lovely to see a sort of collective sense of pride from these tattoo artists, that such a force for good in NiP has been born from the industry they work in.
Incidentally, it was also on this walkabout that I took a mental note of one artist’s work I really liked, and ultimately came back to them the next day for a tattoo from him— I love my little archer guy!
My new Archer Guy tattoo by @demetri_yianni, a forever reminder of the weekend
Skin Art Smack Down
On the second day, Lucy was invited to the Skin Art Smack Down, where several tattoo artists had just 20 minutes to paint an original art piece.
Lucy kept her cool despite the pressure of competition, and I got the impression she could have done the whole thing blindfolded.
I had the privilege of carrying the final piece home across to the other side of London.
One lady on the tube said, “I love it so much. You should be proud”. I think she must have thought I painted it. I wish.
#FREETHENIP
Fun fact: Lucy was meant to write FREE THE NIP on the smack down art piece, but in the last 10 seconds, the lid on her pen wouldn’t come off…
I think the final product speaks for itself though!
#FREETHENIP
For the Nipple Innovation Project, #freethenip means two things:
First, the more standard definition, to push back and change the double standards around nipples, to “free” the nipple from censorship, and to paint nipples in art competitions because why not?
Second, make the nipple free, financially— when breast cancer survivors lose their nipples after mastectomies, we want to be there to provide free nipple tattoos.
You can help us achieve this, either by volunteering, starting a fundraiser, making a donation, shopping with us online, or even by following us on socials and sharing with your friends.
Until Next Time
I had so much fun at my first tattoo convention and meeting the NiP team.
The northerners may have left London, but I can’t wait for the next time I see them again, which looks to be Lucy’s TedTalk later this month.
Hopefully it won’t be too long until our next tattoo convention either!